Hi, here's the next chapter.
phillyitalian - That would have been good, but, who knows, Marcel might evolve inside Galar.
Djinn - Thanks so much. There had to be one Pokemon Charles doesn't like and it has to be, in my opinion, the creepiest one. I'm not a big fan of Mr. Mime, but I do love Mime Jr. Halcyon in his new sweater is as adorable as you imagine; I can picture it myself. Thanks for reading.
pokemonking0924 - I suppose even Charles had to have a fear of something and, honestly, Mr. Mime are pretty creepy. Thank you so much, I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter; it was sad when I had to write the argument scene between Charles and Alice, but I'm happy that they made up in the end. Thanks for the name suggestions, I'll be sure to use them for other characters later on in the story. Thanks for reading.
Guest2 - Yeah, it was a bit unexpected. Hopefully, he can get over his fear with help from Alice's new Mime Jr. Thanks so much for reading and I'm glad you like the Pennywise reference. Hope you'll enjoy this chapter just as much.
SkullGremonX - Ah! That would have been a good reference there. Although, now that you mention it, a Detective Pikachu based chapter does sound interesting. I have to jot that idea down somewhere.
Alice did seem to take it a bit too personally, but I think she was just angry that he wasn't respecting her choices. At the end, neither Charles nor Alice were in the right or in the wrong and they still remain friends at the end of the day. Thanks for reading.
Guest - Thanks for pointing it out; I have fixed it since then. Being part of the Joy family, Flo has quite a lot of cousins and relatives, so there had to be at least one she didn't get along with. Cindy will turn up later on in the story and will Flo's worse enemy. Thanks for reading.
Kunoichi69 - I guess we're all scared off something. Charles doesn't like Mr. Mime, Alice hates needles and tends to stay away from beedrill, Benny is still traumatised by the pichu from the Pokemon nursery and Flo…well, I guess I'll have to reveal that later.
I was originally going to bring Stella into the story, but I then remembered that she only had the one Mr. Mime while I wanted an entire troupe. However, I have plans for Stella to be introduced later as well as Betty much further into the story. Thanks for reading.
Sonic07 - Precisely. It really resonates with the audience on an emotional level. I mean, I was almost in tears when Misty left...but then May came along and so everything was good again. Thanks so much for reading.
Omnipotent X - Thanks so much.
Raging Drake - Good theory and yes, Sneak does have ADHD. Thanks so much, I'm glad you are enjoying it so far.
Guest - For your first question, let's ask Professor Oak.
Professor Oak: [Sigh] Let's just say that it wouldn't be the last time I needed to get a new television.
Oh, right...Anyway, I would love to do a chapter based on Alice's childhood. I think it would be fun. I could also expand on Charles', Benny's and Flo's childhood since I have glossed over it quite a bit. I think that would be fun to write about. Hope you'll enjoy the next chapter.
wellingtonlucas282 - No problem, thanks so much for reading.
Lovely - Thank you so much, you're too kind. I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Marcel will be the perfect therapy Pokemon for not only Charles, but the rest of the team. I loved James' Mime Jr in the anime, so I just had to have one as part of the team. Ruby was sent back and you're right, Alice contacted her mother before she got back and told her to get a tank ready for her arrival. Thanks for reading.
ShinyHunter - A mandibuzz, huh? That sounds interesting. I'll put it on the list. And I'll see what I can do about the shiny Pokemon. Thanks for reading.
NeoReviewer - Thank you, I love them. I've been meaning to do a Scooby Doo-esque chapter for a while now. But I need to figure out the perfect villain for the role. I also like the idea of a chef Pokemon for Flo; I think that would well. Thanks for reading.
Guest - I'm British so I usually spell it -re rather than -er. It may not be exact, but it's just how I write it.
Thanks for reviewing :)
Chapter 40: A Maid For A Trade
Forest, Eastern Kanto
"What a lovely day," Leaf sighed as she merrily made her way down the forest path; enjoying the sights and sounds of the surroundings as she went, "A good day to find Grass types enjoying the sun. I wonder what I will find."
Ever since she parted ways with Charles and the others, she had been spending most of her journey in forests like this; camping amongst the low trees, scouting for rare Pokemon or simply enjoying being one with nature…but also picking up supplies at the closest urban area. It was a lonely at times, but she had her Pokemon with her to keep her company. Leaf was currently moving on to another part of the large forest in hope to find more Grass types to catch.
She hummed happily to herself as she watched her favourite Pokemon frolic and play in the grass and the trees on either side of the path. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind hit her back and blew her brown hair forwards, much to her surprise. She shivered as the wind flowed over her rubbed her bare arms for warmth when suddenly she heard a cry of a Pokemon.
Surprised, she looked around at the forest path and saw nothing there. Another cry from the same Pokemon made her look upwards in the sky; she gasped softly as she saw something being carried away by the wind towards her. It was a round pink Pokemon with four stubby legs and green leaves sprouting from the top of its head. It had small, round eyes and a wide smiling mouth on the front side of its body, seemingly enjoying her flight as she floated over the trees. Leaf's eyes dazzled at the sight of the new Pokemon.
"No way," she uttered, "Is that a hoppip," she said before she took her pokedex out and scanned the Pokemon.
Hoppip: The Cottonweed Pokemon -To keep from being blown away by the wind, they gather in clusters. They do enjoy gentle breezes, though. [Johto]
"So, it came from all the way from Johto," she said before she put away her pokedex,"That's far away from here. Must have been blown off course by a storm or something. Poor thing," she sadly before she looked up at the floating Pokemon.
Leaf was entranced by the Gras type as it slowly and steadily floated down towards her; seeing it chirp so happily in the breeze filled her with warmth which brought a smile to her one face. She instinctively reached her hands up in order to catch the hoppip in her caring embrace and laughed happily as she saw the Pokemon come closer and closer but in slow motion.
"There, there sweetie," she said as she closed her eyes and smiled broadly, "I'll take good care of you," she told the Pokemon comfortingly.
SLAM!
Leaf and the hoppip cried out as a sudden gust of wind made the Pokemon push them forwards and rammed right into Leaf's face. The trainer fell onto her back; her limbs sprawled out and her nose red and starting to bruise. She groaned in pain as swirls appeared in her eyes, feeling the world spin around her and making her feel dizzy.
"Oww…" she moaned as she slowly pushed herself off the ground and rub her aching face. Her eyes suddenly widened when she heard the startled cry of the hoppip; she looked around and cried out in alarm when she saw them floating away, "Oh no, Hoppip!" she yelled.
She shakily got to her feet and began to chase the Pokemon as fast as she could through the forest. She dodged trees, jumped over bushes, almost fell into a small stream, but she didn't give up.
Leaf burst out of the thick tree line and stopped short in surprise; across a neatly green lawn and flower beds was a large mansion made of red brick and marble columns dotted along the outside of it. Growing up in a small town like Pallet Town, she never got used to being around giant buildings, but even she knew that this was far larger than anyone in the big city. It had to be at least five stories tall with large fancy windows big enough for cars to pass through and a large glass dome right on the roof which looked to contain several plants and trees. The entire estate was surrounded by a sturdy brick wall and a solid iron gate at the front which, when opened, led to the parking space right outside the front door.
Leaf took a while to admire the mansion when her attention was caught to the hoppip, who was floating towards it. Leaf took off running towards it, but it was too late; the Pokemon soared over the wall, across the gardens and in through the open window before she could run across the lawn. She stopped at the iron gate and frowned in concern.
'Oh, no,' she thought, 'I need to get in there in case they're hurt.'
She looked around and saw no doorbell and so did the next best thing which was to climb the gate. However, as she was half way up it, she stopped suddenly as she heard a low threatening growl. She looked down and saw a canine-like Pokemon baring it's sharp teeth up at her. It had black an white shaggy fur, red and yellow eyes that glared up at her, sharp claws at the end of its four paws and a fluffy tail that was pointed low to the growled. She flinched at the sight of the scary Pokemon, but it wasn't until it gave a ferocious bark that she jumped off the gate with a frightened yelp. She scrambled away as the Pokemon appeared at the gate and barked at her more, thanking her luck that there was something its way.
"Who's that Pokemon?," she muttered to herself as she scanned it with her Pokedex.
Mightyena: The Bite Pokemon: it give obvious signals when it is preparing to attack. It starts to growl deeply and then flattens its body. This Pokemon will bite savagely with its sharply pointed fangs. [Hoenn]
Leaf read the detail with a curious frown, "Mightyena…they're from all the way in the Hoenn region. What's it doing here?"
"Hmm, Fluffy you can stand down now," a new voice sounded from the other side of the fence, "Naturally, she won't be coming through any time soon."
Leaf looked past the Pokemon and saw a woman in her early forties come into view. She was tall and thin, had fair skin and long blond hair in curls. She had sharp green eyes which looked down at her arrogantly and a thing mouth that was pressed tightly together. She wore a long green dress that Leaf had only seen in fashion magazines; something she never imagined being worn in the middle of a forest. In her arms was another Pokemon she didn't recognise; it was a quadrupedal feline-like Pokemon with grey fluffy fur, but the muzzle and paws had white fur, with round pointed ears, blue eyes and a curly tail that ended with a plume of white fur. Leaf's pokedex automatically scanned the new Pokemon.
Glameow: The Catty Pokemon: It claws if displeased and purrs when affectionate. Its fickleness is very popular among some. [Sinnoh]
"And a Sinnoh Pokemon," Leaf uttered as she put away her pokedex and sheepishly rubbed the back of her head, "Err…sorry about that. I didn't see a door bell."
"We don't get many guest here, hmm naturally," the lady told her seriously, "Even then, is that an excuse for breaking into my property?"
"I…guess not," Leaf lamely admitted, "But, you see, there's this hoppip that floated in through one of your windows and I…"
"Oh, of course," the lady giggled in delight, her mood turning completely, "I was quite surprised myself. A Johtoese Pokemon from the grasslands of the North East and it fell right into my lap…literally, hmm naturally."
Leaf blinked in surprise, "You know that much in such a short time?"
"Why, of course I do," the lady proclaimed with an elegant at twirl, the glameow somehow staying on as she moved, "I am what you might call a connoisseur, hmm naturally, and a collecter of Pokemon across the globe. You may call me Lady Willow, the owner of the largest, private Pokemon sanctuary in Kanto," she said, dramatically showing off her mansion, "In these wall are the dozens of rooms dedicated to the sanctuary and care of my adorable Pokemon like Fluffy and Sebastian here," she said, petting the oddly named mightyena and the bored-looking glameow, "I have Pokemon of all types here living in sheer luxury along with my beautiful self, hmm naturally."
"Wow!" Leaf exclaimed in fascination, "Can I see the sanctuary?"
"What part of private do you not understand?" Lady Willow deadpanned.
"Oh…right. Well, anyway, about that hoppip…"
"Oh yes," she said, letting the glameow jumped to the ground before producing a pokeball from her pocket, "Isn't she just a dear. She'll make a wonderful new member for the sanctuary, hmm naturally," she told her, opening up the pokeball and releasing the Grass Pokemon in her arms.
Leaf's eyes widened at the sight while the hopip looked back a her. The Pokemon chirped happily and tried to make her way over to her, but Lady Willow's iron tight grip kept her back. The hoppip whimpered sadly and stared at Leaf longingly; the trainer's heart broke at the sight.
"You…you already captured it," she uttered in defeat, "but I was kinda hoping it would be part of my team," she told her with a hopeful smile.
Lady Willow blinked down at her before a gracious smile appeared on her sharp face, "Why didn't you say so. You are more than welcome to take it as part of your Pokemon team, hmm naturally."
Leaf's gasped happily, "Really!? That's great. Honestly, I thought you weren't going to-"
"If you're willing to trade a Pokemon from your team to me," she said, cutting her off.
"Trade?" she said in shock, "But I don't want to trade any member of my team. They're my family."
Lady Willow turned away and sniffed snootily, "And what? You expect me to just give you this sweetheart for nothing, how rude. Hmmpf! This is a sanctuary; not a charity for trainers."
She began to shrug away with the glameow and mightyena at her heels; the hoppip in her arms poked over her shoulder and called out sadly to Leaf, its little face saddened by the fact that she was taken away again. Leaf felt her heart tense as she saw the Pokemon being taken away; she didn't want her to leave, but she didn't want to trade one of her own Pokemon either. Frowning in determination, Leaf called out to Lady Willow through the metal bars of the gate.
"Wait!" she cried, making them stop and look back at her, "There has to be something that I could do that can make up for it. Any chores or errands that you need doing. Please, I'll do anything," she begged, her words filled with confidence.
Lady Willow stared back at her with a stern look, looking at the young girl in deep thought. She looked down at the hoppip who was trying to get to Leaf and sighed drearily.
"This is why I hate talking to poor people," she muttered as she turned around, "Fine. I do have something for you in exchange for the hoppip," she told her, making Leaf smile in hope, "Tomorrow, I will be going on a business trip to Celadon City, hmm naturally, and I suppose I could use a person to house sit for me."
"House sitting?" Leaf questioned, looking up at the mansion in confusion, "Don't you usually have staff for that? The place is huge."
"Oh dear no. My entire mansion is automated. Observe," she said with a click of her fingers. Suddenly the gates swung open, allowing Lady Willow to step outside, much to Leaf' amazement, "Watching over hundreds of Pokemon is troubling and I would need a lot of staff to properly look after them, hmm naturally. Every single door, every window, every household appliance and equipment is linked to the main system as designed by Dr. Akihabara of Akihabara Industries. My mansion will automatically feed and provide any sort of luxury that my Pokemon desire. Impressive? Hmm naturally."
"Very…but why would you need me to house keep?"
"Whenever I usually away, I would let Titan out in case something goes wrong," she said with a sigh, "But he's been quite difficult recently. I'm worried he might hurt somebody by accident if I let him out of his enclosure, hmm naturally."
Leaf sweat dropped, 'What sort of a Pokemon is he?' he thought in dread, 'Sounds scary.'
Lady Willow raised an eyebrow at her, "House sit for me for one day and if you do a good job I'll consider giving you the hoppip. How does that sound?"
The young trainer smirked confidently, "Leave it to me. I'll do it," she told her, giving her a thumbs up at the Pokemon.
"Are you sure?" Lady Willow questioned, "It's a large house; I reckon you would need at least three more people to help you."
Leaf blinked blankly before she chuckled, "Oh, don't worry. I know just the right people to ask."
Lobby, Pokemon Centre
"…okay, okay, one more time, Marcel," Alice said to the Mime Jr perched on the coffee table in front of them, "We promise we will get it this time."
The Mime Jr closed his eyes and took a deep breath to prepare himself. He then raised both of his arms up and began tugging as if he was pulling an invisible rope.
"Right, so you're pulling something…something up…you're pulling a rope up," Alice pondered before she clicked her fingers, "I know! You're on a ship and trying to pull up an anchor!"
Marcel shook his head to say no, making her sigh in disappointment.
Flo hummed in the seat next to hers, "Maybe you're not pulling something up, but rather pulling something towards you. Are you pulling a cart or vehicle?"
Once again, Marcel shook his head.
"Damn, what could it be?" she muttered as she scratched her head thoughtfully.
"Aha!" Charles declared from his chair, "you're not pulling something up, but, in fact, are pulling yourself up. You're mounting climbing," he suggested.
However, Marcel once again shook his head.
("Worth a shot,") Benny told him reassuring from his lap.
"Okay, I have no idea," Alice sighed in defeat, slumping into her seat, "Do you guys know?"
"No."
"I can't think, sorry."
("Nope.")
"Okay, Marcel. Tell us what you were doing."
Marcel smiled and placed his tiny hands on his hips, ("Playing the accordion!") he cheered.
Charles and Benny gave him an odd look, not at all expecting that answer at all, "What?" Charles uttered, "Playing the accordion?"
"That's what that was?" Alice questioned in confusion.
"It looked nothing like that," Flo added.
….
….
….
….
It took a while for the pieces to fall into place for Marcel, but once he realised he collapsed onto his hands and knees and bowed his head in shame; a dark cloud appearing over his head. Seeing the Pokemon fall into depression, they frantically began to comfort him.
"Ah…what I meant to say is that it needs a little more work," Flo told him with an anxious smile.
Alice nodded in agreement, "Yeah, practise makes perfect."
"Yeah, miming is really hard anyway," Charles said.
("But I'm a Mime Jr,") Marcel moaned miserably.
After their extended camping trip in the Safari Zone, the team had finally decided to move on and make their way to Cinnabar Island and the Fire Type Gym. Making their way to the closest Pokemon Centre, they had called Ash, Misty and Brock and planned to meet up with them in Centre City, the only place in Kanto with ferry links to the island. It will be a long journey as they had to go southwards and then back westwards along the coast towards the meeting spot; they also planned to make a diversion to Grandpa Canyon where fossils of prehistoric Pokemon had been found. Right now, before they can make the journey back, they were resting as much as they could and head on out the following morning.
As they continued to comfort the Pokemon, Nurse Joy walked up to them with a kind smile.
"Flo, somebody is trying to call you and your friends," she told them, making them look up in intrigue, "She says her name is Leaf and that it's urgent."
"Leaf? Really?" Charles said as they stood up and headed towards the Centres phone booths, "Haven't heard from her for a while. I wonder what's up?"
Alice put Marcel back in his pokeball and hummed thoughtfully, "She said she was staying in the forest the last time we met up with her. I wonder what could be so urgent?"
"She could be pulling another prank on us," Flo muttered.
"Would she really do that?"
"Yes, she would," Charles, Flo and Benny deadpanned, making Alice sweat drop.
Clearly there had been previous incidents when they grew up together.
They reached the phone booths and Flo sat down at the screen and accepted the call. Leaf's face filled the screen in front of them; an anxious smile crossing her face as she waved to them..
"Hey guys. Long time, no see. Glad I finally found you," she greeted in an overfriendly manner.
Flo sighed and shook her head, "Okay, what did you do now?"
"Hey! I take offence to that! When have I ever led you astray," she chuckled, although, upon seeing their mouths open in reply, she waved at them to stop, "You know what, I'll just cut to the chase," she said with a saddened sigh, "Here's the thing..."
Leaf began to tell them what had happened only a few hours ago. Her meeting the hoppip before it flew through the window, meeting Lady Willow and the agreement they had created together. Her friends listened intently to what she had to say, allowing her to say what she had to say without interrupting her. Eventually, a disheartened Leaf stared down at the desk in misery as she ended her story.
"...So, I really, really, really need your help guys. Please! I want the hoppip to be part of my team. It's just so adorable!" she pleaded.
Charles hummed with a small frown, "Well, let's see. Alice, how far away are we from Leaf's location?"
Alice proceeded to take her map up and scan it with a small hum, "It's quite a long way away. If we leave now, we can probably make it by tomorrow," she lowered the map slightly, "It does mean delaying our journey to Cinnabar Island though."
Leaf, hearing this, slumped in her chair, "Oh...well, if it's going to be a bother then don't worry. I just thought I would ask."
"What are you talking about?" Flo said, making her perk up a little, "Of course, we're going."
"Huh? You will?"
"Yeah, we're friends, aren't we? And if you want this Pokemon to be part of your team, then we'll help you in anyway," she told her with bright smile, "You'll do the same with us."
"But what about your next gym battle?"
"The gym's not going anywhere," Charles added, "We can spare a few days. Besides, house sitting a mansion filled with exotic Pokemon, sounds awesome," he said excitedly, "I can't wait to meet them and hug all the cute ones."
("I wonder if some would like to battle?") Benny mused.
"I wonder if they have rich people food there," Alice said, licking her lips.
"Hey! I'm trying to look after the place, not steal from them," Leaf scolded, shooting Alice a look before a relieved smile graced her face, "Thanks guys. You're really the best."
"No problem," Charles told her, as they smiled back at her, "We'll be there in no time."
Leaf giggled as she put a hand on her cheek, "Thanks...by the way, you wouldn't mind picking up some cleaning supplies on the way...and maybe some food for lunch...and maybe some drinks and sweets for after...and maybe some games to play once all our jobs are done...and maybe some-"
"Okay, now you're being a bother," they chorused.
Leaf giggled and stuck her tongue out, "Only joking."
Main Hall, Lady Willow's Mansion
Leaf opened the main door that Lady Willow had left her and stepped into the grand hall of the mansion, followed closely by her friends. They stood in utter awe of everything; it looked like a palace with its pristine marble floors, its fancy mahogany furniture, large painted portraits of Pokemon, with some being legendary, hanging on the walls, its crystal chandelier that was hanging over their heads, and large statues of different Pokemon dotted hear and there around the place. The hall was dominated by a large, round oak table with the largest bouquet of flowers they had even seen proudly situated in the middle of it. To the left was the entrance into a lavish sitting room with comfortable sofas and chairs around a grand fireplace. To the right was a dining room that was far larger than any of the ones at a Pokemon Centre. Across the hall was a large, wooden staircase that wound its way up on to the next levels of the mansion and to, they presume, where the other Pokemon are kept.
Flo and Alice gasped in joy, their eyes sparkling as they took everything in.
"Wow! This place is so cool!" Flo cried out, "I feel like I've stepped inside a castle or something."
"That sofa looks comfortable," Alice said, as she peered into the living room, "Do you think Lady Willow would mind if I took a seat?" she asked as she skipped over to it. However, before she could get any closer, Fluffy, the mightyena leapt out of its hiding place and growled warningly at Alice. She yelped and jumped back, "Haha! Never mind. I'll just stand, okay?" she sheepishly said.
Fluffy continued to growl at her, but yipped in confusion when Charles slid up to him and wrapped his arms around its neck, "Aww, it's a mighyena!" he said with a grin, "I've only seen them in books. They're so adorable!" he squealed.
Alice looked on with concern, "Charles, you really shouldn't do that. They're not like growlithe. They can be pretty danger-" she stopped mid-word when she saw Fluffy lying on its back, wagging its tail with its tongue sticking out as Charles rubbed its belly, "...and you already tamed it. Some guard Pokemon you are," she said with a roll of her eyes.
"The same guard Pokemon that put you in your place a few seconds ago," Flo teased, making Alice blush in embarrassment.
Leaf wondered over to the table and spotted a note on it; she picked it up and read out loud.
"Dear girl that I never bothered to ask her name, hmm naturally…"
'Hmm naturally?' the others thought in confusion.
'…Your task for today is all of the following. Cleaning the hallways, vacuum the carpets, wash the clothes, clean the crockery…"
"Wait a minute," Flo interrupted, "I thought we were house sitting? It sounds like she's got us working maids."
Leaf waved a hand dismissively, "No, she's not. These are just small chores," she told her before she read the note again, "…maid uniforms can be found in the closet…ah…"
"Is she serious?" Alice deadpanned, "I'm not wearing a maid uniform. I'm still getting teased by wearing the nurse uniform."
"She says she's serious," Leaf sighed, "She doesn't want our regular clothes to dirty her house."
Alice sighed, "Fine. Stupid rule," she muttered.
They eventually found the cupboard where the uniforms were kept and got changed in a spare room. They eventually gathered in the hall again, now wearing a black and white maid uniform along with white lace headbands and wedge shoes. Charles' face grew red when he saw his friends dressed up in their uniforms; they looked so pretty that it made his heart flutter.
("You doing alright?") Benny asked, nudging his face with a teasing grin.
"Shut up," Charles muttered and turned away.
Alice sighed as she tugged at the hem of her skirt down, "I already hate this."
"It's actually no different from the nurse uniform," Flo mused.
"This will take some getting used to," Leaf hummed as she looked down at herself. She then grinned up at Charles, "Alright, your turn."
"My turn?"
"Yep," she chirped as she held out another maid uniform, "Your turn to change."
Charles' eyes widened in shock; he held out hands and waved them at her, "Wait! I was hoping there would, at least, be a butler uniform or something."
"Nope. Just maid uniforms," Leaf giggled as she shoved the uniform into his arms.
Flo gave Leaf an odd look, "What are you talking about? There are plen-"
Leaf grabbed Flo and Alice and pulled them close, "Quiet. Do you want to see him in a maid uniform or not," she whispered at them.
…
…
…
The girls, after some thought, nodded at the same time, "You know what, I kind of do," they both said before they turned back to Charles.
"Yeah, Charles. Wear the uniform as well."
"We all have to do what Lady Willow says."
Charles looked down at the uniform in his arms and sighed reluctantly, "Fine," he said as he turned away, "I'll go change."
Once he left the room, Leaf grinned at the girls and gave them a thumb's up, "Got him," she whispered victoriously…before she felt something pull on her ear painfully, "OW! OW! OW! CHARLES! STOP!"
Charles, who was suddenly at her side and punishing her, shook his head in disappointment, "You really think I would fall for that, Leaf Green," he scolded before he glared at Alice and Flo, "Don't let her get to you like that."
"Sorry," they apologised.
Charles and Benny found the right uniform and got changed. He entered the hall wearing a black and white butler uniform, equipped with white gloves and a bow tie that Benny helped tie. The pikachu himself wore a bow tie as well and Charles had combed his fur to make look a bit more professional. As soon as they saw him in the uniform, the girls blushed and looked away with a thrilled grin on their faces.
"Actually… this is better," Leaf whispered, making the other two nod in agreement.
"Are we ready to go?" Charles asked, "We don't really have long."
Leaf turned back and looked down at the note that Lady Willow left behind, "One moment, there's some things we're forbidden to do. 1. No going into any of the rooms. 2. Do not go into the control centre in the basement. Everything will operate automatically. 3. Use the keycards provided if you need to get into any of the rooms (only if necessary). 4. Most importantly, do not open the glass ball the parlour room. If any trouble then release Titan."
"Glass ball?" Charles questioned, "What could that mean?"
"Let's not forget the Titan part," Flo asked, "Sounds scary. Maybe we should keep away from… whatever that it."
Leaf hummed and placed the note back on the table, "Let's get this over with. The faster we get this done; the faster we can leave."
"Right," they all agreed confidently.
5th Floor
Leaf, with a feather duster in her hand, cleaned the long, grand hallways of the giant mansion, doing her best to catch every single speck of dust that she came across. She needed to do a good job; Lady Willow seemed like the type of person who could sniff out a hint of uncleaned dirt from a mile away and so she needed to do the best she can. Her getting her hoppip are dependent on herself and her friends' skills at cleaning.
After cleaning another boring antique vase on another boring table, she made her way down the hallway again, but stopped short as she walked next to a door with a brass plaque reading 'Grass Type Room'. She stared at it for a few seconds before her eyes widened in excitement.
"Grass Type Room?" she gasped, "there's a bunch of Grass Type Pokemon behind that door. Some from different regions," she said before she realised something, "Maybe this is where Hoppip is living at the moment," she glanced left and right, checking if the corridor is clear before she smirked and took out the keycard, "I'm sure Lady Willow wouldn't mind if I take a look for a few minutes," she said as she unlocked the door and stepped inside.
Leaf shielded her eyes as entered the room because of how bright it was and felt her hit a wall humid and warm air. She blinked a few times so her eyes could adjust, but when she could see again, she gasped in awe. Around her she saw something akin to a beautiful paradise, was a large, green forest filled with luscious trees, bushes and other foliage. The floor beneath her feet were soft, brown dirt which was so warm that she could feel it through her shoes. She looked up and saw the glistening glass dome that covered the entire room, allowing the glorious sun to pour in like a gigantic greenhouse. However, what really caught Leaf's attention, was the hundreds of Grass Pokemon living amongst the leaves and the tree trunks and the long grass of the room. There were a few she recognised like oddish, tangela, bulbasaur, vileplume and even an exeggutor. And then there were Pokemon she didn't recognise like a short, round one that looked like a cactus; one that looked like a monkey and had a small stick in its paw; and another that looked like a dinosaur and had something that resembled a bunch of bananas hanging on its chin. Leaf squealed in absolute joy and practically skipped into the room and scooping up the closest Pokemon, which happened to be an oddish, in her arm.
"This is amazing!" she cried, "Oh, look at you all. You're so cute…"she gently put him down and hugged the dinosaur-looking Pokemon, "…and so tall…" she rushed over and picked up the cactus-looking Pokemon, "…and so- Ow! Ow! Very spiky…" she said cringing in pain as she gently put the Pokemon down. She shook of the pain and twirled around just like Brock would us he sees a beautiful woman, "…I want to live here. With all of you!" she declared before she suddenly remembered what she came in for, "Oh right," she looked down at the Grass Pokemon gathering at her feet, "You wouldn't happen to have seen a hoppip that just arrived yesterday?"
All the Pokemon pointed or nodded deeper into the forest; she thanked them and headed off in the direction. She clambered her way through the thick leaves and the branches, encountering new Pokemon on the way. Eventually, she came to a small clearing and stopped as she saw the hoppip sitting on a boulder; it stared miserably at the ground, sighing heavily as if it was missing something. Leaf gasped before she called out to the lonely Pokemon.
"Hoppip!"
The hoppip looked up at the cry and turned around; his small face lit up in joy when it saw her and jumped off the rock towards her. Leaf ran towards it with her arms outstretched and ready to catch the Pokemon in her arms. Once again, everything seemed to slow down as they floated and ran to each other, laughing and squeaking in sheer happiness.
"Oh hoppip," Leaf said, "I'm so glad-"
SLAM!
And once again, they misjudged the distance and the hoppip slammed into her face, knocking her off her feet and onto her back with a loud thump. As she fell backwards, one of her shoes that was part of her uniform flew off her foot and zoomed over the trees.
"Ow!" Leaf moaned as she and the hoppip and swirls in their eyes, "We really need to stop doing that."
The hoppip dizzily agreed.
SMASH!
"Huh?" Leaf sat up with the Pokemon in her arms and wondered where the sound had come from, "What was that? Sounded like it came from the far side of the room."
She stood up and walked through the forest until she reach the side of the glass dome where a bunch of Pokemon had gathered. She peered over all of them and cringed at what they were looking at; one of the windows that made up the Grass Type Room was completely smashed to pieces; fragments of class was scattered across the ground. Leaf looked in horror at it before she looked down at her shoeless foot.
"Ah…do you think there's any possibility that she won't notice this?" she asked. The Pokemon shook their head firmly, "Thought as much," she sighed.
Parlour Room
Meanwhile on the ground floor parlour room, Flo was vacuum cleaning the rug that filled most of the room. She sighed in boredom as push the vacuum back and forth, wishing she could so anything else but this. It was one thing cleaning a Centre, but cleaning an entire mansion? However, she put up with it and continued to clean as a favour to her friend; it's not as if Leaf did this on purpose. At least the uniforms were cute.
She was just in the middle of clearing away another pile of dust when she heard something move. She glanced over her shoulder at the table and at the glass ball that Lady Willow mentioned in her note. It was no larger than her head and was completely opaque, it stood on a wooden base with some wires plugged in at the bottom which lead down through the centre of the table and into the floor. It was a curious thing and it gave off an odd smell that she couldn't identify, but it had been otherwise quiet…until now.
The glass ball shifted on its base again, making her jump in surprise. She turned off the vacuum and walked cautiously towards it as it continued to shake on its base. She inspected the base and found a switch on the side, the same one Lady Willow told them not to press, before staring down at the glass ball in concern. She was starting to hear a small voice coming from it.
'There can only be a Pokemon in there' she thought to herself, 'It could be in trouble…but we were told not to open it,' she pondered with a small frown. However, she shook off her worries and focused, 'A Pokemon being cramped into a small space is cruel and bad for its health and, as a nurse, I will do anything to help. No matter what!' she thought boldly as she flicked the switch.
The glass ball stopped rattling as soon as she flicked it followed by a solid click. Suddenly, the top half of the glass ball detached itself from the rest and began to flip up, opening the inside of the ball to her. Nothing happened at first and Flo's worry was beginning to grow even more, when, out of nowhere, something shoot out of the ball and began to whizz about the room in speeds faster then she could process. It seemed to glitch and flicker across the area; one moment appearing in a corner, then underneath the table and then next to her ear, making her jump as she felt an electrical jolt from it. Finally, it stopped right in her face and she finally had a good look at it. It was a small, round orange Pokemon with a bulb at the bottom of it and a pointed horn on the top of it. It had two blue, oval-shaped eyes and a thin line for a mouth and its entire body seemed to be covered in an unusual electric aura with two lighting-shaped protrusions on either side which acted as arms. It flicked in front of her, never staying in one place for more than a few seconds and gave off an odd humming sound as if it was giggling.
"Huh? Who are you?" she asked, retrieving her pocket book so she could look up the unusual Pokemon. She flicked through the pages before she stopped at the right one.
"Rotom: Its body is composed of plasma. It is known to infiltrate electronic devices. An Electric/Ghost type. How fascinating," she said as she put the pocket book away as the rotom fly around her head excitedly, "Well, it doesn't look like you're hurt of anything. That's a relief. So, why don't you go back to your-"
But before she could finish, the rotom gave a shrill cry and darted towards the unused vacuum cleaner and entered it through the small cracks, much to her surprise. The vacuum shifted slightly before it suddenly switched on; the long nuzzle lifted itself up and, before her eyes, the vacuum began to zoom around the room on its own, circling her and the table at break neck speeds. By the time it stopped, the carpet and just about everything else was clean and free of dirt; Flo stood in utter amazement at what just happened, a broad smile on her face.
"Wow! You did at least twenty minutes work in seconds," she said happily, "Thanks so much!"
The rotom popped out of the vacuum and zipped around the room as it giggled madly to itself; it then suddenly flew out of through the open door and into the hallway.
"Huh? Where are you going?" she asked as she quickly followed after it.
She chases the rotom down the hallway through the main hall; through the dining room and into the washing room. The Pokemon giggled once again before it flew into the washing machine on the far side of the room. As soon as it entered the appliance, it turned from silvery grey to orange in an instant before two eyes poked out the front. The washing machine, just like the vacuum, turned itself on and began to wash the clothes that were already in there without Flo doing anything.
Flo giggled in delight, "Oh, so you like going into electric appliances. That's cute," she closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side, "Hey, you know what. We could really use a hand on cleaning the place. Do you think you can-"
FWOOOOSSSSHHHHH!
Flo screamed in shock as a jet of cold water hit her face, completely drenching her from head to toe. She gasped, spat out some soapy water and moved her soaking hair out of her eyes and glared at the rotom washing machine with its water tube aimed at her.
"Hey! What was that for!" she yelled at it furiously.
The rotom, however, giggled mischievously and shot another jet of water at her. Flo ducked underneath it just in time, allowing it to spray out into the dining room. Flo sighed in relief but then saw the rotom fly out of the washing machine and flew out of the room.
She quickly chased after it into the dining room and into the hallway, but stopped when she saw, to her confusion a flying electric fan hanging right in front of her; it was orange, the same colour the washing machine had turned turned into, and Flo spotted a pair of eyes poking out of the base of the fan. She heard the same mischievous giggle coming from the fan before the blades began to turn faster and faster until a gale of wind blew from it; powerful enough to push her back a few feet and knock her on her back. She cried out in pain and glared at the rotom fan before her. The Pokemon slipped out of the fan, allowing it to drop uselessly to the ground, and zipped towards the nearest light switch, slipping in easily and disappearing in an instant. Flo stared at the light switch in disbelief before she heard something smash from the floor above her.
"I…shouldn't have let it out," she moaned before she began to chase after it again.
3rd Floor
"This thing is too short," Alice muttered as she attempted to pull down her skirt to her knees, "How can anyone work in this thing," she sighed before she looked up and down the hallway that she was in.
She had just finished cleaning every single part of the hallway and now she considering on head back down to the ground floor. Alice was about to walk back down to the ground floor when she heard a scratching noise coming from the door on the left. She looked at it in curiosity before she head the same scratching nose from before; she studied the door and found a bronze plaque reading: 'Pyroar Room'.
"Pyroar?" she asked herself, "Never heard of that Pokemon," she reached for her Pokemon pocketbook only to realise she wasn't wearing her own clothes, "Oh right, I can't look it up," she heard the scratching again, making her look up and down the hallway, "Can't hurt to find out. I bet Charles would do the same thing."
Using her keycard, she opened the door slightly and peered in. To her surprise, a red ball bounced out of the open door and rolled across the hallway; Alice watched the ball in intrigue before something shot out of the open door after it and pounced on it. It was a feline-like Pokemon with dark grey fur covering most of its body while its muzzle, paws, ears and the end of its tail were light brown. It had round ears, big black eyes, a red nose and a tuft of red hair on its head which resembled a small mohawk. It chewed and played with the ball happily, rolling about on the floor like an adorable kitten. Alice gasped in delight and kneeled down beside it.
"Aww, you're so cute," she said, admiring the Pokemon from afar, "So, you're a pyroar, huh? Quite a tough name for such a small Pokemon," she chirped. The Pokemon took notice of her and ignored its toy to scamper over to her. She reached down and allowed it to lick her hand before she began to stroke it behind the ears, "You're a friendly guy, aren't you. It's nice to meet you too," she giggled. Feeling a little braver, she reached underneath it, picked it up and held the Pokemon to her chest, "Oh, I'm definitely going to catch one of you on my journey. We can snuggle like this every day," she told him before she noticed the Pokemon open its mouth slightly, "Oh, do you have something to say. I may not be Charles, but I'll try my best to understand."
The small Pokemon opened its mouth wider and then…
RRRRROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRR!
"Eh?" Alice uttered in confusion.
That was not what she was expecting to come out of its maw. However, it soon dawned on her that the noise didn't come from the Pokemon…but from what was behind her.
She slowly turned around and gulped nervously at what she saw. It looked like a larger and older version of the Pokemon in her arms; its body was lean and powerful, its claws were sharp and its teeth were fierce and bared at her. Around its head was a mane of roaring red and yellow fire that flicked hotly to the point that she was feeling the flames on her skin. The Pokemon growled at her warningly, causing her to sweat anxiously.
"Oh…so you must the pyroar, right? That makes sense," she gulped before her eyes flickered to the cub in her arms, "So, this must be your child. I should probably put him down. You probably don't like that," she said as she gently put the Pokemon down. However, the pyroar only stepped forwards and growled deeply at her, "Wait! Wait! I was trying to steal him. I'm not a poacher; I'm actually a police officer in training and I-"
She decided to sprint down the hallway as fast as she can, the pyroar took after her, hot on her heels.
"I was only saying hello!" she screamed as she ran for her life.
2nd Floor
Charles wiped away the last bit of dust on the windowsill while Benny, who was perched on top of his head, used a rag to wipe the windows clean. Once the brothers were done, Charles stepped back and allowed themselves to admire the clean window with some pride.
("Looking good,") Benny commented.
"Yep, one down…" he turned his head and saw an entire row of windows that still needed to be cleaned, "…nineteen more to go…at least," he sighed, "Maybe we should work a little faster."
("Maybe she should get smaller windows,") Benny muttered, ("Can we stop for a break? My fur is getting dirty.")
"Yeah, I guess so. Let's see if we can find a bathroom."
They left the cleaning stuff behind and headed down the hallway, however he slowed down as he spotted a door to his left with a plaque reading, 'Cute Pokemon Room'. He gave a soft gasp, making Benny roll his eyes at him.
("Charles, we're not allowed to go into any of the rooms,") he scolded.
"But cute Pokemon," he moaned before closing his eyes and sighing to focus himself, "Nope, you're right. We came here to do a job and help Leaf. We can't go wandering about the place and disturbing the other Pokemon in the sanctuary-"
("Err…Charles.")
Click!
"Huh?" he uttered, just noticing that he somehow unlocked the door, opened it and was halfway through it without him realising it, "How did I do that?" he questioned before he shrugged and pushed on through, "Ah well, might as well now."
Benny shook his furry head, ("I'm disappointed in you.")
"Don't care. Now let's see the cute Pokemon."
The room they had entered was much larger than they were expecting; its walls were painted pink and white with flowers blooming pattens along the edge, its ceiling was high and painted to look like a blue sky with white fluffy clouds. The room was filled with cushions and soft furniture for the Pokemon to rest and play with…
… and there were a lot of cute Pokemon.
Charles' eyes sparkled in happiness as he took it all in; a couple dozen of most adorable, sweetest looking Pokemon that he had ever seen were in front of him of all shapes, sizes and colours. Some were playing with their toys while others were lounging on their beds. Charles zoomed into the room and picked up the closest Pokemon he could get which happened to be a small, brown-furred Pokemon which resembled a teddy bear; it had round fluffy ears, a cream coloured muzzle, beady black eyes and a crescent moon on its forehead.
"Look Benny, a teddiursa!" he exclaimed, hugging the confused Pokemon to his chest.
("Umm…hello?") the teddiursa asked with an intrigue frown before Charles moved onto the next Pokemon.
"And look, an igglybuff," he cooed, kneeling down to a round, pink Pokemon with stubby arms and legs, three balls of fluff on its head and big, round red eyes, "Isn't she adorable. She's the pre-evolved version of jigglypuff."
("Sorry, who are you?") the igglybuff questioned, looking up at him curiosity.
"Oh, and over here," Charles said as he zoomed across the room to a small, purple Pokemon with stubby arms and legs with long, floppy ears which covered up to holes on the top of its body; it also had plus-shaped eyes and a tail that resembled an electric plug, "A whismur. It's nice to meet you. My name is Charles and this is my brother Benny."
The whismur looked up at him and blinked in surprise, ("— — — —,") the Pokemon whispered in a quiet voice.
…
…
…
"I…have no idea what you are saying," Charles said.
("Seems like your gift isn't good with every Pokemon, hmm?") Benny hummed, ("Maybe we should stop bothering these Pokemon, Charles. Let's get-") he stopped suddenly when his saw one Pokemon strut along the cushioned floor, ("Whoa, now that's cute.")
Charles turned to where he was looking and felt himself go lightheaded by how cute this Pokemon. It was a small quadrupedal Pokemon with pink fur covering most of its body, but it brown fur on the legs. It had a white muzzle and ears, a large pink tail with a dark pink ring around it and round, oval brown eyes. Beneath its tail was a white square tag giving it the appearance of a stuffed toy. It strutted past them with a broad smile on its face, completely ignoring the two as it went by. Charles basically squealed and got in front of the Pokemon with an excited smile.
"I think I've heard of you in a magazine; you're a stufful. You come from the Alola Region, don't you?" he gushed, looking down at the Pokemon with a bright smile, "It's so nice to meet you."
The stufful stared up at them with a blank expression in its face. It then got on its hind legs, opened its small mouth and said in a squeaky, cute voice, ("What you lookin' at, yer [censored] idiot. I oughta smash yer [censored] face in,") it squeaked.
…..
…..
…..
…..
"Huh?" Charles and Benny uttered, completely taken back by what he was saying.
("Yer deaf or somethin',") he said as it waved his paws adorably, ("I'm gonna [censored] your [censored] [censored] and [censored] [censored] until yer [censored]. Then I'll shove my paw up your [censored] and [censored] [censored] [censored] [censored] and lock your [censored] in a cage and [censored] [censored] [censored]. Now get outta my way before I [censored] you up, [censored]") he squeaked.
Charles, still in a state of shock, stiffly stood up and stepped to the side, allowing the stufful to march past him; the brothers wordless stared out into the distance, not quite sure what to do now.
"Huh…" Charles eventually said, "…that was a lot of swear words. Good thing this is a K+ story, otherwise we would have heard them."
Benny, however, shook of his shock and glared at the stufful in anger, ("Hey, are we really going to let him speak like that to us? He insulted and threatened us for no reason.")
Charles gave him a worried look, "It's fine Benny. I guess I did get overexcited."
("That's not an excuse to be rude,") he said, leaping down from his shoulder and scurrying over to the stufful, ("Hey! You! Come back here!")
The stufful turned its fluffy head to him and blinked at him, ("Yer want to [censored] fight, mate? I'll [censored] your [censored]!") it chirped, turning back to him.
("Just you try it,") he growled before looking back at his brother, ("Charles, let's battle this punk.")
The trained frowned in concern, "I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, I don't think the other Pokemon would want us to-" he turned and sweat dropped as he saw the other Pokemon had gathered together were watching the fight. One of them even had a bucket of popcorn, "Okay then. I guess we can."
("Perfect,") Benny said as the two Pokemon shot each other an competitive glare.
3rd Floor
Alice sprinted as fast as her legs could carry her down the wide hallways of the mansion, twisting and turning left and right in an attempt to shake the pyroar off. However, the fierce Pokemon would not give up as he snapped his sharp jaws at her heels and shot jets of fire from its maw. Luckily, she had managed to avoid all of the attacks.
She took a sharp left turn down another hallway before she spotted a door at the end of it. Eyes narrowed in determination, she ran even faster towards it and skidded to a stop in front of it; she produced the keycard from her pocket, unlocked it and flung it wide open just as the pyroar was going to leap at her.
The Pokemon pounced and flew towards her head, but she ducked just in time and allowed him to go over head and into the room she had opened. As soon as the pyroar crashed inside it, Alice reached out and slammed it shut and locked it before it could recover.
She waited for a few seconds as she heard the pyroar roar and snarl as he attempted to get out, but, after a while, it seemed that she was completely safe. She sank to her knees and sighed in relief.
"Okay… from now on… no more…opening doors in this place," she told herself as she caught her breath. She looked up at the door that was keeping the pyroar trapped in and frowned in concern, "I should probably do something about this."
After some thought, the best solution she could think of was putting a note on the door with the words:
Do not open!
Pyroar (very angry) in this room.
Thank you
:)
The smiley face at the end wasn't necessary, but she thought it would, somehow, lighten the tone of the note.
"That should do for now," Alice said with a satisfied nod.
Grass Type Room
Leaf did her best.
She cleaned the fragments of glass, found a piece of cardboard and taped it over the broken window. After some thought, she managed to unroot one of the bushes (with help from her Pokemon friends) and planted it just in front of it, completely covering it with its green leaves.
"That should do it, right?" she asked the Pokemon as they all stared at where the broken window was, "Please, just promise me not to tell Lady Willow."
The Pokemon nodded in understanding, making her sigh in relief.
Fizz! Bzzz!
"What?" Leaf uttered as she saw the lights flicker above her head, "What's going on with the lights? Hold on, you guys. I'm going downstairs to see what's going on," she told the Pokemon before she swiftly left the room.
Main Hall
She somehow knew that something was wrong as soon as got off the final step off the grand staircase. Mainly because everything was soaking wet, covered in grass or coated in ice, but also because the buzzing had become much louder. She stared in utter disbelief at the state of it all; it was much dirtier now then it was before they arrived. Suddenly, Flo ran into the room from the dining room with a broom in her hand; she looked just as war-torn as the rest of the room. Her she was soaking wet, her hair was covered in grass, and it looked as if her uniform were singed in places. Their eyes met across the hall and Flo skidded to a halt.
"Leaf, have you seen it?"
"Seen what?"
"The rotom."
"What's a rotom? And what happened to you?"
Flo gave an annoyed growl, "I opened the glass ball in the parlour and, apparently, it contained a rotom."
"You still haven't explained what a rotom is."
The lights flickered around them before a high pitched giggle rang out around them. Leaf looked around in confusion while Flo hummed in frustration.
"That's a rotom," she told her, "And it sounds like it's in the lights again. Damn, it could be anywhere and go into any appliance," she shook her head tiredly, "Just as long it doesn't go into the oven again then we'll be fine."
"I see," Leaf muttered, before she realised something that she said, "Wait! You opened the glass ball despite Lady Willow forbidding it," she accused before she grinned mischievously, "Oh, Flo. I can't believe you'd break the rules like that."
Flo gave her a deadpanned look, "Right…and where exactly is your shoe right now?" she questioned, pointing to her feet.
….
….
….
Leaf blushed and smiled sheepishly, "Okay, fair enough."
"Apology accepted."
Click! Click! Click!
The two jumped in surprise as the main door locked itself, followed by the large windows in the dining room and the living room. The lights above their head began to flash rapidly and rotom's giggling grew even louder.
'Emergency Lockdown!' a robotic voice said over the tannoy, 'Emergency Lockdown!'
"W-what is that!?" Leaf cried out in shock.
Flo gasped in realisation before she sped through the dining room, down the corridor and through the parlour room where the door to the basement was located. Leaf followed her and got there in time to see Flo trying to use her keycard to enter the basement, only for her request to get denied.
"Damn it," she muttered.
"What's wrong?" Leaf asked, "Flo, what's happening to the mansion?"
"Rotom can enter any sort of any electrical appliance and use it like it was part of its body," Flo told her through gritted teeth, "You said that Lady Willow had the mansion automated by a central control…well, now the rotom has got itself into it."
"Y-you mean?"
"Yes," she said in a serious tone, "The rotom has control of the entire mansion."
Hallway
Alice turned a corner and down another long corridor, however she stopped short when she noticed the lights flicker and buzz above her head. Then, to her surprise, she heard the sounds of doors being unlocked from down corridor and swung open. She stood there in confused shock before she saw multiple Pokemon of all sizes and types run out of the rooks and stampede towards her. She yelped and ran as fast as she could the other way.
"Oh come on!" she cried.
Cute Pokemon Room
Benny was sent flying off his paws and skidded along the ground, however he quickly got back up and faced off against the stufful. The Pokemon he was battling giggled adorably and swung his legs in the air.
("Had enough, [Censored]?") the stufful questioned with a wag of his fluffy tail.
("Not even close,") Benny spat back with a grin, ("What next, Charles?")
The trainer frowned thoughtfully, "Try Routine Golf 1. Keep your distance as well; he may be strong, but he's not faster than you. Use that to your advantage," he commanded.
("Right!") Benny agreed firmly as he narrowed his eyes at his opponent.
("Woohoo! Yeah!") cried the crowd of cute Pokemon as they watched the match.
("Kick his butt!")
("Don't give up!")
("Show no mercy!")
'These are really bloodthirsty Pokemon, huh?' Charles thought with a sweat drop.
But before the match could continue, the lights above them began to flicker and buzz. Everyone looked up in confusion as the door to the room swung open; in fact, the whole house seemed to vibrate and glitch as if the system had gone haywire.
("What's going on?") Benny asked, ("What's wrong with the lights?")
Charles hummed in concern, but it was the stufful's cute growl that caught their attention.
("Damn it,") he spat, ("Not him again. That lousy [censored] [censored],") he turned its button eyes up to Charles and tilted his head to the side, ("Oi human [censored]. Take me to the [censored] control centre. I've got to sort things out,") he told him with wag of his tail.
Parlour Room
"What are we going to do," Leaf panically said as she began to pace up and down, sweating building up on her forehead, "Lady Willow is not going to like this. Not only is she not giving me hoppip, but she's going to ban me from seeing any hoppip from the rest of my life."
"I know she's rich, but she doesn't have that much influence," Flo told her, "It's fine. We just need to break through and somehow get it out of there."
"How do we do that? The door's hard as steel," she said before her eyes widened in shock, "Look out!" she yelled before she pulled Flo to the floor.
A blender flew over their heads and flew through the air and out of the parlour room, narrowly missing their heads. They crawled underneath the table to avoid a lawn mower that was about to ram them and took shelter as more and more electrical equipment started flying about the place.
"No way! It's controlling everything electrical!" Leaf exclaimed.
"As long as it's powered by the control centre, it can use it," Flo said through gritted teeth, "There's no other way. We have to release Titan to stop the rotom… that's a sentence I never thought I would say whilst dressed as a maid and underneath a table."
"We don't know who Titan is," Leaf said, yelping as a toaster almost hit her, "We don't have time to compare all the big, intimidating Pokemon in the entire place. Even if we did, we still have no way of getting him."
A loud, thundering bark caught their attention; they snapped their heads towards the door to the parlour and saw Fluffy standing proudly with his teeth bared.
("Damn Rotom,") he snarled, ("I don't know how you got out, but I'll take you down.")
"Fluffy!" Flo and Leaf shouted happily.
"Thank goodness. Maybe he's Titan that Lady Willow was talking about," Flo said.
"I thought Fluffy was a weird name to give him," Leaf mused, "It must be a trick to make his enemies lower their guard."
The mightyena bellowed furiously and charged at the basement door…only for a vacuum cleaner to get in his way, whirring and making a loud noise that canine Pokemon seemed to be frightened of.
Fluffy yipped, turned around and ran out of the room with his tail between his legs, ("Ah! Vacuum cleaner!") he yelled as he was chased by the appliance.
"DAMN IT, FLUFFY! WHAT SORT OF A GUARD POKEMON ARE YOU!?" Flo and Leaf shouted at him.
A loud clanging noise alerted them to a washing machine heading straight for them. They screamed and use their arms to shield them when suddenly-
("Take this!") a small, fluffy pink Pokemon shouted as it flew through the air and clobbered the washing machine away with its paw.
The girls watched in shock as the machine flew across the room and slammed against the far wall, not quite believing what they had just seen. But before they could react, they heard a familair voice from the doorway to the parlour.
"Leaf! Flo!" Charles called as the pink, furry Pokemon landed back in his arms, "Are you two alright?"
"Charles," they both said in relief, before they took notice of the stufful in his hands, grinning happily while his tail wagged in the air, "EEEEEEKKKK! WHAT A CUTIE!" they squealed, forgetting the seriousness of the situation and rushing to the Pokemon with wide smiles, "Can we pet him!?"
("If any of them [censored] [censored] touch me, I'll snap [censored] [censored] [censored],") the stufful threatened as he smiled adorably and waved his front paws in the air.
"Aww, Charles what did he say?" Flo cooed.
"Err...well..." he stammered, "...That doesn't matter. We need to sort this out before anymore damage can be done. The doors to the rooms have all been opened and the Pokemon are running loose upstairs. Benny went on ahead to find Alice while I cam down here to deal with the rotom."
Flo frowned slightly, "How did you know it was a rotom causing all of this?"
"Titan told me. Apparently it's happened before."
"You talked to Titan," Leaf said in surprise, "Where is he?"
Charles raised the stufful up, "This is Titan. Titan meet Flo and Leaf my friends."
"WHAT!?" they exclaimed in sheer shock, staring down at the adorable Pokemon no bigger as he blinked up to them, "THAT'S TITAN!"
"Yes," Charles said as he put him down on the floor, making him scamper away, "I was just as surprised as you. But then I remembered that stufful are part Fighting types and are much stronger than they look. They've been known to tear down trees just by their flailing. I mean Benny has been having a hard time battling him."
Leaf gave him a sceptical look, "You're joking, right. That cutie?"
SLAM!
They turned around in time to see Titan punch the door open and march inside and heading down the stairs. The girls' mouths hung open in disbelief while Charles smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head.
"Yeah...best not get in the little guy's way."
Control Centre
In the basement of the mansion, having its own room, was a giant computer the size of a car; this was the Control Centre, the brain of the entire house. It had wires and pipes sticking out of the sides and leading through the walls to their assigned place, a large keyboard on a desk and three screens that would have provided the user with surveillance of the entire place if it wasn't for the rotom. The Pokemon's influence on the computer had not only changed its colour from steely grey to orange, but its smirking face can be seen on each of the screen as it unleashed havoc over the entire place; simply for the fun of it all. It made the food dispensers fire pellets of food at a group of Pokemon, made the sprinklers in the garden unleash a tidal wave of water and made every appliance that wasn't nailed down fly all over the place. It giggled manically as everything was its control.
Nothing can stop it. He was the higher power.
Until he was hit by a Brutal Swing attack right in the computer's hardware. The rotom squealed in pain and shot out of the Control Centre, allowing it to run back just as normal. It hissed in anger and flew about the place, wondering who would dare challenge its authority…
…only to come face to face with Titan.
The grin dropped from its face as Titan leered down at him; the rotom began to shake in fear at his charmingly cute smile.
("Move,") he demanded sweetly, making the rotom move away instantly.
Titan scampered past him, leapt onto the chair that was at the computer and then jumped onto the desk. It then made his way to the microphone sticking out of the keyboard and pressed a button with its paw.
Hallways
Alice and Benny were backed into a corner.
Several powerful Pokemon were standing in the way to the exit and none of them seemed ecstatic to move for them. If Alice had her pokeballs then she would help with the battle, but she had to rely on an already winded Benny whose attacks are doing ineffective against them. Alice gritted her teeth in determination while Benny growled at the mean Pokemon.
("Damn, this is not going to be easy,") Benny muttered, ("But I can't let them hurt Alice.")
"Keep fighting," Alice encouraged, "If we break this line then we can probably make a break for it."
Benny nodded and was about to release a Thunderbolt attack when suddenly a voice squeaked out through hidden speakers throughout the mansion; a voice he knew very well.
("Oi, you lot,") Titan growled cutely, making the other Pokemon, even the fiercest ones, stiffen up in fear, ("Get back to your rooms now or I'll…")
Titan went on about the violent and vicious things he would unleash on the Pokemon, causing them to shake and tremor in terror. Soon, the Pokemon began to quickly go back to their assigned rooms. Alice stood in astonishment as all their enemies quickly disappeared, allowing them to go free.
"Wow! They're listening to the voice," Alice uttered in amazement, "And what an adorable little voice. They must think it's cute as well," she chirped.
Benny shivered as he listened to Titan continue his threats, ("Yeah…cute.")
Control Centre
Titan lifted his paw off the button and glared down at the terrified rotom, ("Get back to yer ball now, yer [censored]," he endearingly ordered.
The rotom yipped in fear and zoomed out of the basement and back into its glass ball, making sure to close it behind itself.
("Right,") Titan said to himself, hopping off the desk and strutting back up the stairs, ("Time for some food and then a nap.")
Main Hall
Lady Willow, with Sebastian the glameow around her neck, hummed as she wiped a dainty finger across the table and checked it for dust; she raised a single eyebrow before she hummed again in satisfaction. Leaf, Charles, Flo and Alice watched as she inspected every single thing with a critical eye, but Leaf was by far the most worried out of all of them.
It had been a few hours since Lady Willow had returned and they had done the very best to clean up every last thing after the incident had surpassed. They had just about done it when she had returned and she then began an entire through inspection of the house. Leaf was beginning to sweat nervously; if the lady of the house found one thing wrong with her home then she will, without a doubt, not give her the hoppip and everything would have been for nothing. She got so nervous that she began to tremor in fear, but then she felt a warm hand on her shoulder and turned to see Charles offering her reassuring smile.
"It'll be fine," he whispered, "If she turns you down then we'll think of another way to make it up. You're not alone; we'll help you as much as we can."
Leaf felt her cheeks flush slightly as he smiled at her before she noticed Alice, Flo and Benny offering the same look. A small smile graced her lips and she stopped trembling, feeling much more assured then before.
"Hmm naturally!" she proclaimed, making them jump in surprise, "I always have a keen eye for cleaning staff and you four have reached my expectation," she pressed her hand against her chest and grinned boastfully, "It is honestly a gift, hmm naturally."
("Only you would turn the hard work into a brag,") Sebastian sighed with a roll of his eyes.
Leaf stepped up to her, eyes wide in hope, "So, does that mean-"
"Fine," Lady Willow sighed as she produced hoppip's Pokeball, that she retrieved earlier on, and gave it to her, "You may have the little darling, hmm naturally. I, Lady Willow Bud, always keep my word…except the times when it inconveniences me."
Leaf cheered, grabbed the pokeball and jumped in the ecstatically, "Thank you so much! Yay! I've caught a hoppip…sorta."
The corners of the lady's lips lifted slightly as she watched the young girl celebrate as if she was somewhat happy by this exchange, "You must remember to take care of the little darling," she instructed sternly, "After all, if you look after your Pokemon then they will look after you, hmm naturally."
Leaf was about to promise her when she was suddenly interrupted.
"Oh, don't worry. She will," Flo said, to her surprise.
Charles stepped up beside her and nodded, "Leaf has always been amazing with Grass types. Hoppip will love being with her."
"Yeah," Alice piped up, "You can one hundred percent trust her."
Leaf felt her heart fill up in absolute joy at their kind words; she had no idea how much they supported her until then and it took everything for her to start crying. Lady Willow seemed satisfied with the positive feedback and nodded her head soundly.
"How nice. You are quite lucky to have such good friends who are there for you," she told Leaf, making her smile broaden even further, "Although, I do have one last question," she said before she produced a black shoe from behind her back, "I found this in the courtyard. What was it doing out there?"
The stared blankly at the shoe in her hand before they looked at Leaf and then down at her one foot that was missing a shoe. Leaf mouth opened slightly as they waited for an answer before she chuckled and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.
"Haha! What was doing out there, I wonder?" she uttered nervously.
'At least come up with a proper excuse,' her friends thought collectively, glaring at her with a deadpanned look.
Forest
The walk back to the nearest Pokemon Centre was long, but neither of them minded. The were all focusing on the adorable hoppip in Leaf's arms; the Grass Pokemon giggled and laughed as her new trainer hugged her warmly to her chest.
"You're going to love the rest of the team, Uku," Leaf told her new Pokemon, "We can then give you a bath, clean your leaves, go shopping to find what pokefeed you like…"
Flo giggled at her enthusiasm, "Well, I'm glad you're happy now, Leaf."
"Personally, I'm just glad we're out of those uniforms," Alice sighed, overjoyed to be back in her regular clothes, "I really hated it."
Charles, personally, thought they looked really good in a maid's uniform, but he kept it to himself.
"Guys," Leaf said, catching their attention, "Thank you so much for doing that for me and putting up with all that chaos," she hugged Uku a little tighter and looked down at the ground, "I can't help but feel a little bad. I mean, I don't deserve to have good friends like you guys."
Charles shrugged, "It's not a matter of if you deserve it or not. Everybody needs to have friends that they can rely on," he told her.
Leaf blushed under his gaze and chuckled, "Thanks. You guys are the best. You know what, when we get to town, why don't I buy you dinner, my treat."
"That sounds great!" Alice nearly shouted.
"Easy now, girl," Flo chided, "Thanks Leaf. We really appreciate-"
Suddenly, Leaf placed Uku in the crook of her elbow and used her other arm to link Charles' arm before she pulled him along with Benny almost falling off his shoulder, "Great! We meet you guys later at the Pokemon Centre! Come on, Charles! Let's go on our date!"
"D-date!?" Charles sputtered as he was dragged through the forest.
Flo and Alice blinked blankly as the two humans and two Pokemon disappeared into the distance, leaving them alone in the forest.
….
….
….
….
"Hey!" they cried as the chased after them, "come back here!"
Bedrooms, Pokemon Centre
Later that evening, in their shared bedroom, the team had gone to sleep; exhausted after the day they had just had. However, while Charles, Benny and Flo were soundly asleep, Apollo, who was lying next to Alice in her bed, was woken up by his trainer tossing and turning underneath her bed covers. He frowned in concern and pawed her shoulder as if worried that she having a nightmare. Alice opened her eyes at the feeling and looked down at her worried Pokemon with a reassuring smile.
"Oh…" she yawned, "…sorry Apollo. Didn't mean to wake you up."
Apollo titled his head to the side as if to ask what was keeping her awake.
"I don't know…" she mumbled, "I just…I just can't help but feel that I've forgotten something…."
Mansion
The door to the estate slammed open as Thackeray Bud stepped in with an annoyed huff. His hair was toddler and his clothes were slightly torn and there was dark rings around his eyes; a sign that he hadn't slept well in a while.
"Mom!" he called out, slamming the door behind him, "I'm home!"
Lady Willow, with Sebastian on her shoulder, gracefully walked into the lobby from the living room and gasped in delight, "Oh darling, how have you been? Hmm naturally."
"Terrible," he muttered, "I got attacked by a flock of spearows…again."
"Oh dear, that's naturally a shame," she giggled with a dainty hand pressed to her lips, "I just got back from Celadon and had all your photos reframed," she told him, showing him one of the framed photos she took with her, "Let's go over them and tea."
"Not now, mom," he grumbled as he climbed the stairs, "I'm going to my room to have a nap."
"Okay dear," Lady Willow said as she glided back into the living room.
Thackeray stomped up the oak stairs and headed down the corridor towards his room, grumbling miserably to himself, "Stupid spearows. Getting in my way," he muttered bitterly before grinning a pulling out a pokeball triumphantly, "Good thing I caught one before I escaped. Once it becomes a fearow, I can then beat that stupid Charles and those stupid girls that are always with him," he declared before he stopped at his bedroom door and opened it, "Looks like things are going my way," he chuckled as he stepped in and closed it behind him.
He didn't see the warning note tapped onto the door.
….
….
….
….
RRRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!
"AH! PYROAR! PYROAR IN MY ROOM! AAAAAHHHHH!"
RRRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!
"HELP ME! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"
RRRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!
Rooms, Pokemon Centre
Alice shrugged and laid her head down back on the pillow, "Ah well, probably wasn't important if I forgot," she said before she yawned and closed her eyes, "I'm sure it's fine," she form herself before she drifted off to sleep again along with Apollo.
That's it for now!
Sorry that this came out late.
Exciting chapter with new Pokemon not introduced until later generations. It's tried to be brief with the descriptions because I want to reveal them later on in there own regions.
I also wanted to introduce stufful into the story. I always pictured them as tough and mean, but with a cute, little body. This stufful is particularly horrible, I mean, I never seen so many censors in this story.
Also, for anybody whose interested, Uku is Japanese for 'float'. I thought it would be cute.
Thanks for reading :)
Potential Pokemon List:
Charles
Gastley
Drowzee
Goldeen
Aerodactyl
Onix
Grimer
Hoothoot (Johto)
Octillery (Orange Islands)
Pinsir
Salamance (Hoenn)
Metagross (Hoenn)
Dewgong
Elekid (Johto)
Poochyena (Hoenn)
Chikorita (Johto)
Flo
Psyduck
Cubone
Jolteon
Shellder
Weedle
Qwilfish (Orange Islands)
Exeggcute (Orange Islands)
Igglybuff (Johto)
Snubbull (Johto)
Sunkern (Johto)
Miltank (Johto)
Beautifly (Hoenn)
Slugma (Hoenn)
Mandibuzz (Unova)
Alice
Rattata
Poliwag
Spearow
Lickitung
Spinarak (Johto)
Umbreon (Johto)
Rhyhorn (Johto)
Wobbuffet (Johto)
Smeargle (Johto)
Nosepass (Hoenn)
Swinub (Sinnoh)
Vanillite (Unova)